Goji Berry, Almond Protein Balls

There are many protein ball recipies. Most of them are either labelled as energy balls ( way too many carbs in the form of sugar ), or generally too high in calorie content. Now, when I have the inclination to reach for an ‘energy’ ball I would like it to be moderately guilt free.

These are really protein balls as they are high in protein due to the protein powder and almond meal contained in the recipe. They taste divine in that they are not too sweet but sweet enough and not too dense either. Rest assured your doing your body a whole lot of good. They are bursting with antioxidants. The goji berries are a good source of vitamins and minerals. ( Vitamin C, Fiber, Iron, Vitamin A, Zinc and antioxidants ).

Please only use Raw Cacao not Cocoa powder. Raw Cacao is made by cold-pressing unroasted cocoa beans rather than processing at high temparatures this means their goodness is retained. Raw Cacao contains far more antioxidants per 100g than acai, goji or blueberries alone. I also found it just tastes far better.

Ingredients

1 cup pitted dates or Medjool dates

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup raw cacao

1/4 cup almond meal

100g vanilla protein powder (low carb )

1/4 cup coconut oil

50g-70g almond milk or unsweetened coconut milk

4 tablespoons goji berries extra for decoration

flaked almonds for decoration

Method

Place dates in blender and blend till dates form a thick paste. Heat coconut oil till it forms a liquid. I won’t stipulate which brand of protein powder but it is recommended to use a low carb protein powder and one that you like.

Add coconut,cacao, almond meal, protein powder and pulse a little. Add the coconut oil and pulse a few times again. Add half the coconut milk, pulse and check to see whether you can at this stage make a ball with a little of the mix in your hands. It may need a little more of the almond milk if its crumbly. At this last stage add half the goji berries and pulse your blender. The goji berries are added last so that when you bite into them there are little red morsels inside. We don’t want the goji berries to be blended so much they are powdered down.

Last but not least form the balls, and roll in either flaked almonds or goji berries in the picture. Tip: crush the flaked almonds in your palm first – you will find they will adhere to the ball better. The goji berries I pressed onto the balls with my finger then rolled back the ball into shape.